Easy Peasy Project Bags

Furoshiki are squares of fabric used in Japan (and elsewhere, though they’re not always called furoshiki) to wrap things up, sometimes for formal gift giving, sometimes just for easier transportation. When I lived in Japan, most people brought their lunch to work in neat little lunchboxes carefully tied up in furoshiki which doubled as tidy placemats when untied.

If (like me) you generally have about a half dozen knitting or crochet projects in the works and need something to contain them, furoshiki might be the answer (and you don’t need real furoshiki–you can use whatever squares of fabric you have around). And if (like, um, me) you have a tendancy to throw one or more of your projects into a great black hole of a purse where lace meets car keys and cashmere meets uncapped pens, furoshiki again might be the answer. Just tie up your projects in a pretty scarf before tossing them into your bag. Handkerchiefs can double as instant yarn bras, too–just tie one around a ball of yarn to minimize wear and tangles.

Instant bags are also appealing as an easy, unmessy kid-craft that make great props for games of make-believe.

Big Kid and I will share two of our favorite insta-bags with you. First up, Big Kid demonstrates The Back Pack:

For the backpack, you’ll need two scarves. We made the handle with a large-ish (about 15x 15″ ) handkerchief). Fold it as shown…

then again…

then again, so that you have along narrow “strap.”

Lay your big scarf right-side down and lift up two diagonal corners and tie a half-knot.

Center the strap scarf and tie it into the knot.

Tie the ends of the strap to the corners of the big scarf.

Ta-da!

Take a friend for a ride.

Next is the Handle Bag, for which you will need two more-or-less round handles. I had a pair of bamboo handles from the craft store on hand, so we used those.

Start with your scarf wrong-side up. Pull the two corners of one end through the bag handle from underneath as shown.

Flip that end of the scarf over and tie the two ends together on the right side of the scarf to anchor the handle.